Jazeera Airways cuts Syria flights over turmoil

Kuwait's low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways has cut the number of flights it operates in and out of Syria because turmoil in the country is making it difficult to operate a full service.

The airline is now offering six flights a week compared to its usual 18, chairman Marwan Boodai told Reuters in an interview.

We hope the situation will improve there and get back to normal ... currently we operate six flights a week. That is needed to serve our customers, he said.

Boodai said his company had increased the number of flights it operates to Jeddah, Dubai and Cairo and that this had helped to offset the loss of the halted Syria flights.

Although regional turmoil has complicated the carrier's operations in recent months, it was able to report 10.6 million dinars ($38.1 million) annual profit on Tuesday, compared to a net loss of 2.8 million dinars in 2010.